1855 Knollcrest Circle SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546-4402 USA
On the campus of Calvin University
© 2025 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship
This service was modeled after the Sunday evening student-led worship service at Calvin College following the movements of praise, confession and assurance, intercession, listening to God’s Word, and responding with acts and dedication and faith.
Call to Worship – Psalm 150 film
Let Everything That Has Breath Praise the Lord
Words and Music: Matt Redman © 1997 Kingsway’s Thankyou Music, admin. EMI Christian Music Publishing.
Greeting
I Will Extol You, O My God
Psalms for All Seasons 145E
Glorious and Mighty (based on Psalm 96)
Words and Music: Bob Kauflin, Joel Sczebel and Todd Twining © 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise, admin. EMI Christian Music Publishing.
Prayer
Come, Holy Ghost / Be Not Afraid (based on Veni creator spiritus)
Words and Music: Bruce Benedict, Rabanus Maurus, Ray Mills © 2005 Cardiphonia Music, LLC.
My Soul Finds Rest in God Alone
Psalms for All Seasons 62B
Passing the Peace
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture Reading – Psalm 1
Sermon
Be the Centre (Michael Frye)
Following the sermon you are invited to write a letter to God, responding to his covenantal love for you.
Be Thou My Vision
Words: Irish, 8th cent.; vers. Eleanor H. Hull (1860-1935), alt.; tr. Mary E. Byrne (1880-1931); Public Domain
Music (SLANE 10.10.10.10): Irish traditional
Philippians 3:10-12
All I Have Is Christ
Words and Music: Jordan Kauflin © 2008 Sovereign Grace Praise, admin. EMI Christian Music Publishing.
Blessing
My Friends May You Grow in Grace
Words and Music: Timothy James Meaney and Sean Diamond; alt. Gregg DeMey and Gregory Kett © 1991, 2001 Wiseman Music.
Mary Hulst, preacher
Liturgy and music: Students from the Calvin College LOFT team, led by Paul Ryan
Psalm 150 film produced by Steven Jones and directed by Ben Vanderput
This service is modeled on the Sunday evening student-led worship service at Calvin College called LOFT (Living Our Faith Together). LOFT services follow the movements of praise, confession and assurance, intercession, listening to Gods Word, and responding with acts of dedication and faith. The pattern is consistent from week to week but is often experienced as a time of free-flowing worship that makes use of visual art, dramatic readings, dance, prayer, and music from a variety of sources and in multiple styles. One significant aspect of worship at LOFT is a creative and often tangible response to the reading and preaching of Scripture.
LOFT services are broadcasted live on Sunday evenings at 8:00pm during the academic year and are archived for viewing at any time: http://www.calvin.edu/faith/worship/loft.html
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
John Goldingay, an Anglican priest and the senior professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, posits the psalms are the densest material in the entire Old Testament. They expound the nature of God as the compassionate, faithful, and committed one, but also as the one who makes demands upon us. The psalms help us talk to God, even about difficult things—and when we do, we are talking to someone who is in a position to do something about it.
Sister Kathleen Harmon of the community of the Ohio province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Dayton, invites us to be transformed by the psalms and experience them as the whole story God is revealing to us. As we keep praying and singing them, the psalms interpret us, and that’s when the transformation comes.
Vinroy D. Brown Jr.—conductor, musicologist, educator, and minister of creative worship and music at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City—explores the vibrant intersection of Black sacred music and the psalms. He talks about Black composers and how they have reimagined the psalms through choral music, spirituals, and the gospel tradition for the benefit of everyone.
The last few minutes of corporate worship are critical because they frame the entire purpose of worship and its connection to our lives in the world.
